Two vegans in Florida accused of starving their 18-month-old son to death by feeding him only raw fruits and vegetables have been indicted on murder charges, authorities said.
Ryan Patrick O’Leary, 30, and Sheila O’Leary, 35, were also indicted Wednesday by a Lee County jury on charges of aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter, child abuse and two counts of child neglect, State Attorney Amira Fox announced.
“The evidence and crime scene in this case are gut-wrenching,” Fox said. “These are images as a mother and state attorney I will not be able to forget.”
The Cape Coral couple surrendered to police last month after a medical examiner ruled that their son – who weighed just 17 pounds – died on Sept. 27 of malnutrition.
Sheila O’Leary had earlier called police to report that the boy was cold and wasn’t breathing. Ryan O’Leary tried to revive the malnourished toddler, but he was pronounced dead inside the home, the Fort Myers News-Press reported.
The boy’s mother later told cops that the family’s four children ate only raw foods like mangoes, rambutans, bananas and avocados. The boy had not eaten solid food for a week, but was being breastfed, Sheila O’Leary told police.
The charges also involved the couple’s three other children, ages 3, 5 and 11. The alleged abuse took place this year, Fox said.
Those children were also allegedly malnourished, one so badly that some of their teeth had to be removed, WBBH reported.
Ryan O’Leary is the biological father of the three youngest children, while the 11-year-old is now living in Virginia with her father. The couple, who remain jailed, are set to be arraigned on Monday.




